Hansen Family

Great America

2011-09-20T10:33:00.000-07:00

The week before the kiddos went back to school we took them to Great America in Santa Clara. A little side note about my kids is that they LOVE staying in hotels. They love everything about it... so we went out after church and stayed the night then went to the park the next day. Last time we went the theme was Spongebob and Blues Clues. This time it was the Peanuts Gang. I don't think they can decide what they want. We went on some pretty fun rollercoasters and Ash was tall enough for all the rides. Ethan was a trooper all day too. Good Times.

Is he a Hansen???

2011-08-09T22:24:00.000-07:00

I'm just trying to figure out if Ethan looks like one of my kids or not?? What do you think?
Caleb (old school scanned in photo)

Ashlee

Sydney

Ethan

Great Grandma Hansen

2011-08-09T22:04:00.000-07:00

I went to see great Grandma Hansen before I left to drive home from Utah and got some cute pictures of her with the kids. I never met my great grandparents and I feel so blessed that my kids have been able to grow up with Great Grandpa and Grandma Hansen.

ZZZzzzz's

2011-08-09T21:52:00.000-07:00

The big thing this summer has been to build forts in the new loft that Carl built. They love it and have gotten pretty creative. I'm not going to lie... the mess makes me crazy but I've just had to overlook it. Catching them sleeping makes it worth it. The pics of Caleb and Ethan sleeping were just a bonus. I can't believe how small Calebs bed looks.

She is usually the mastermind behind the chaos in our house.

4th of July

2011-08-09T17:44:00.000-07:00

We celebrated the 4th of July in Utah. These are pictures of doing fireworks that night.

I am one lucky lady.....

Carl's Birthday

2011-08-09T16:40:00.000-07:00

For Carl's birthday we took the kiddos boating. It was Ethans first time. He LOVED it! Not so much the lifejacket but he was so good. I love the boat. All the kids love it and it is perfect because no one can get grumpy and stomp off. We are stuck together. Good family time. (that's in no way means that I don't get grumpy launching and loading.....not my favorite.)

Caleb is learning to drive because I am not very good at it.

May Dance recital

2011-08-09T15:58:00.001-07:00

After several unsuccessful attempts to upload the video of Syd's dance recital that I took on our new HD video camera (any advice from professional bloggers on how to make it work is welcome) I finally gave up and uploaded the one taken from a point and shoot at the back of the auditorium. not the best quality and the head in the shot is awesome but it gives you an idea of how stinkin cute these tap dancers are. She did tap this year instead of ballet and had fun but we are switching back to ballet next year.

Syd, Brooklyn and Dylen

Getting ready for the finale.

Flowers from Daddy.

Syd is the 4th from the end. Her friend Dylen is 6th from the end.

Spring Break 2011 "Monterey, CA"

2011-06-14T14:16:00.000-07:00

We took the kiddos and Nanny to Monterey for Spring Break. Our hotel was right on the beach and it was beautiful. For my Utah peeps, beaches in Northern California are beautiful but I've only been a handful of times when it has actually been pretty warm. Even if it's in the 70's the wind is still cold. But the kids don't seem to mind and they even get in the water. We went to the Aquarium and played on the beach. Ethan was so good and slept all night 2 out of the 3 nights we were there. Can't wait to go back.

Caleb didn't appreciate his dad making him put on an apron to play in the water.

This is the view right outside our room.

Ethan's Blessing Day

2011-06-14T13:40:00.000-07:00

Ethan was blessed on April 10, 2011.

My boys!!

Caleb was feeling left out with all the attention Ethan was getting.

Knights Ferry

2011-06-14T13:23:00.000-07:00

Nanny and Grandpa were here for the weekend when Ethan was blessed and we went up to Knights Ferry for a BBQ and hike.

Handy Man Carl........

2011-04-21T16:25:00.000-07:00

When we found out that Ethan was joining our family we had to try and figure out where to put the little guy. Caleb wasn't super excited about sharing his room with a newborn and we only had 3 bedrooms upstairs with a loft. So my super duper handy husband drew up some plans to convert our loft into a bedroom for Ethan and to add a new loft above the vaulted formal living room. Be prepared for TONS of pictures but I am pretty amazed and proud of the job that he did. It was hard living in a construction zone but he seriously did the whole project in about 2 months. He spent every weekend on it and often worked until midnight durring the week. I found out that kids can sleep through an air compressor going off, drill guns and lots of hammering and sawing.
Front room before

New ceiling in formal living room.

Hallway to the new loft area

Building Ethans closet

Ethans new room.

Picnic with the Family

2011-04-20T18:16:00.001-07:00

Between sessions on Conference Sunday we took the kiddos for a picnic and a hike up by the river. It was a beautiful, sunny day here and our family in Utah was getting snowed on.

He is as tall as me now!

Go A's

2011-04-20T18:10:00.000-07:00

Ashlee is the only one playing baseball this season since Caleb is on a traveling basketball team and Syd is doing tap. Her team this year is the A's. She is doing awesome.

basketball 2010-2011

2011-04-20T17:22:00.000-07:00

Caleb made his 7th grade basketball team this year and also played on the City Rec team, so for about 4 months we had ALOT of basketball around here. He did really good and had a great season. He's 5'6" now with size 10.5 feet.

Ethans First Photo Shoot

2011-04-20T16:43:00.000-07:00

Ethan had his first photo shoot when he was 5 days old. Once again my beautiful friends did an amazing job. He was such a good boy and they got some fantastic shots of him.

Ethan Charsley Hansen

2011-04-20T13:35:00.001-07:00

My amazing friend Misty has shamed me. She seriously had her sweet baby boy last Tuesday and has already blogged the hospital photos of him. I am only 11 weeks behind which is about my speed these days. We are officially a family of "6" now. Ethan Charsley Hansen was born on January 30, 2011. He weighed 8 lbs 10.5 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. Keeping in the Hansen tradition this little guy wasn't due until February 17th and his scheduled c-section was on February 10. So he was pretty huge for being 2 1/2 weeks early.

Baby Shower

2011-03-03T20:24:00.000-08:00

I have filled my life with amazing and talented friends and my baby shower was no exception. Tami and Melanie had a joint baby shower for Misty and I back in January. Tami seriously is not only an amazing photographer, she does hair and should really consider a party planning business. She does such a great job decorating and coming up with way cute ideas. Combined with Melanie's amazing baking ability the shower was awesome. I got some really great things for Ethan too. Having a 6 year gap between kids I pretty much got rid of all my baby stuff so I am extremely grateful for all the gifts and the wonderful friends that I have.

Nan was here for the shower, I am so lucky to have such an awesome mother in law.

Mel and Penny.

I sure do love these girls!! ( I delivered Ethan a week later so that is my defense for the ginormous belly)

Maternity Pictures

2011-01-30T12:16:00.001-08:00

I have had a pretty firm rule that there are to be no pictures of me pregnant past a certain point. I am NOT one of those people that glow with pregnancy nor do I feel that it is particularly beautiful. However, since this is my last baby and I have amazing friends that are photographers I decided to take a few to remember what is was like. These were taken early last month (luckily, because I seem to have doubled in size since then). It was freezing cold and my poor friend Tam was pretty sick that day. I wish I had a picture of her because she wore this hilarious mask the whole time because she was worried about getting me and Misty sick since we are both expecting. Thanks girls. I love you guys.

Sydney is 6

2011-01-30T12:07:00.000-08:00

Misty took some 6 year old pics of Syd for me. Again I can not stress how amazing my friends are. Syd was so good and kept telling Misty how she was going to pose.

Sydney's Birthday

2011-01-30T11:39:00.000-08:00

Our sweet Sydney turned 6 on December 23rd. I only have big birthday parties every other year (I'm lazy) so this year for Syd she choose to go to "Color Me Mine" She got to invite 7 or 8 of her little friends ( I love that she included Ashlee and Ashlee's Best friend Katie). If your not familiar with Color me Mine, it's a fun place where you get to pick something ceramic to paint then they fire it for you. Syd choose a crown bank, her friends Dylen and Brooklyn both picked cupcake jewelry holders for their moms. I sure hope Misty and Tami are using them for their jewelry. The girls had a blast and I loved not having to clean up after.

Birthday donut on her actual birthday. She did NOT think it was cool that I got donuts for Caleb and Ashlee too.

Saying Goodbye

2011-01-30T11:33:00.000-08:00

Carls grandpa and the kiddos great grandpa Hansen passed away this summer. Only Carl was able to go out for the funeral so when we were in Utah for Thanksgiving we went to the cemetery to say goodbye. He has a really nice headstone with things that he loved in this life, like mountains, wildlife and his family. We miss you Great Grandpa Hansen.

Trunk or Treat

2010-11-16T06:14:00.001-08:00

We went dressed in 80's clothes this year for the trunk or treat. Pretty classy.... especially with my prego belly and the awesome belly shirt Tam and Misty found for me. Good times.

Syd with her sweet friends.

When Sydney told us she wanted to be an angel for Halloween my sarcastic, yet hilarious son said, " that is what I call ironic." Syd is sweet and is a blessing to our family but angelic has never been a word we would use to describe her.

Pumpkin Carving

2010-11-16T06:04:00.000-08:00

The night before Halloween our friends the Jaime's came over for dinner and a little pumpkin carving fun. It worked out great since I HATE to pull the guts out of the pumpkins and if it were up to me we would just draw faces on them with markers, but the dads were awesome and helped all the kiddos clean and carve their masterpieces.

Baby Hansen

2010-11-03T20:42:00.000-07:00

Most people know by now that we are going to have a little boy on February 10, 2011. We are planning on naming him Ethan Charsley Hansen. While Nan was here we went to Womb with A View and had the 3D ultrasound done. ( a little creepy, but very cool.) We got to take the kids to see him and it made us all excited for his arrival. And he is definitely a BOY!

Pumpkin Patch

2010-11-03T20:19:00.000-07:00

While Nan was here to visit we took the family to the pumpkin patch where we met up with some friends. Caleb and his bud Max. They are good friends.

The whole group of cute kiddos minus baby Branson.

A new crazy ropes course that Carl and Caleb HAD to try out. They also did the zipline but I didn't get pics of it.

2010 SOCCER

2010-11-03T20:04:00.001-07:00

We have spent the every Saturday for the last 2 months at the soccer field. All 3 kiddos played this year. Misty was Syds coach and Syd kept asking to be goalie. It was hard to watch but she did good. Ashlee's team only lost twice and Calebs team was really good too. Not too sad it's over though.

Caleb bags his first 14er

2010-11-03T19:42:00.000-07:00

Carl took Caleb on their annual backpacking trip and this year Caleb climbed his first mountain over 14000 feet. Then got up the next day and climbed Boundary peak in Nevada. He is a pretty cool kid and is always up for an adventure with his dad.

First Day of School

2010-11-03T19:36:00.000-07:00

Man, I am still trying to catch up. I'm just going to skip some of our summer activities but I had to post a couple of the first day of school pictures. (please note to my photog friends that YES I made my girls face the sun in front of the school. Don't judge me!! that is why you take our pictures for us) Sydney is a big kindergartner this year, Ash is in the 3rd grade and Caleb is a 7th grader. It is crazy how fast they are growing up.

Rafting

2010-09-29T20:15:00.000-07:00

Carl took the kids rafting down the river. It was Ashlee and Syds first time. Carl, Caleb and Ashlee started at Knights Ferry and floated to Horseshoe where Me, Nana, Papa and Sydney met them for a BBQ lunch and after lunch Syd floated the rest of the way with them.

Crazy dad setting a good example.

Oops, hit a rock and sprung a little leak.

Daddy Daughter Campout

2010-09-29T19:48:00.000-07:00

Every year Carl takes each one of the kiddos on their own camping trip. This is the trip he took with Ashlee in August. I am almost finally caught up. I'm only a month behind now. They had so much fun and we actually discovered that Ash is our most patient kid. She loved fishing even though they didn't catch anything, and she had no problem trying all day. The area they went to was beautiful and in full bloom with wild flowers and she really liked that too. He's a great dad and the kids really look forward to have one on one time with him.

Our First California Fair

2010-09-29T18:26:00.000-07:00

We went to our first state fair and had a blast. Syd had the most fun going on every ride she could.

They love corn on the cob.

June Part 2

2010-09-15T12:08:00.000-07:00

At the end of June for Carls thirty-something birthday we went to Sequoia NP camping. Ok seriously, if you haven't been, you need to go. I loved it. Even being sick everyday it was so much fun. We hiked and saw lots of bears and deer. On Saturday our friend Brian came up with his son Aiden. Good Times!!

Pajama crew on a rock in our camp site.

Really daddy? safety first with Carl, "quick stand there while I take a picture and mom watches for the mama bear."

My turn. I don't know who was watching for mama bear now.

Giant ants....

Sydney after we told her to stop smashing the giant ants.

This one was a little too aggressive for my taste, but Carl was determined to get as close as possible.

General Sherman tree.....

Cave exploring

Ashlee took her junior ranger book pretty seriously and got sworn in on our last night.

June part 1

2010-09-15T11:47:00.000-07:00

This has not been my favorite summer ever, but we have tried to get the kids out to do some fun stuff. One weekend we met up with some of our friends from Carl's work and went boating and camping at Don Pedro. I get very sad and jealous that I can't wakeboard this year:(.

Carl Wakesurfing....

Graduation

2010-08-18T17:31:00.001-07:00

She did it! Our baby Syd graduated from Pre-school. She thought it was pretty great to wear a cap and gown and she got to keep her tassel.

Boating in June

2010-08-18T17:22:00.000-07:00

Still catching up! Here are a few pictures from boating back in June. Caleb is really getting good at wakeboarding and miss Ashlee has become very brave on the knee board. Syd is still happy
just riding the tube.

Caleb

2010-08-14T16:58:00.000-07:00

I am blogging way out of order now but today is my sweet Caleb's 12th birthday. Happy Birthday bud, we love you so much. I wasn't due until September 3 but this little guy decided to become my favorite birthday present ever. (One of my besties JoJo was due 2 days before me so I actually felt a little guilty having Caleb first.) He has been such an amazing kid. He is super smart and has the most generous heart. He is a fantastic big brother and loves his sisters. He has a hilarious sense of humor and is pretty sarcastic in a funny way. Caleb, I am so proud of the young man you have become. You are such a good example to me and the rest of our family. You have such amazing faith and a strong testimony. I know that you are going to be a great leader in life. Love you!!!

Caleb 6 Weeks old

Caleb 12 Years old. ( My extremely talented friend Misty took this pic for me, to see more of Caleb and what Misty can do go HERE)

Kitchen Update

2010-07-27T14:39:00.000-07:00

When we moved in over 6 years ago Cam and Darcie painted my kitchen red for me. But I was ready for a little change. I wanted something a little lighter because my kitchen is kind of dark anyway. So I got the paint and my amazing hubby painted and added a new back splash for me behind the stove. I was a little nervous when he just started routering away at the corian. But as usual it turned out amazing. Thanks babe.

14 Years

2010-07-27T14:32:00.000-07:00

I am really behind and a little out of order but in April when nan was here for Ashlee's baptism Carl and I celebrated our 14 year anniversary. He was really sweet and planned a getaway to San Francisco for a couple of days. We went to a GIANTS game and ate yummy hotdogs ( they just taste better at the ball park) and the next night he took me to see WICKED. It was amazing and if you get the chance to see it, I highly recommend it.

heart belongs to daddy

2010-07-27T14:30:00.000-07:00

Sydney is the 3rd from the left with the big sways..

My Heart Belongs to Daddy

2010-07-27T14:06:00.000-07:00

Sydney has been taking ballet all year and in May they had their big performance. She did so good. I was worried she would get out there and not do anything. It really helped that she was with Dylen, Brooklyn and Riley. (Nothing like a little peer pressure).

Ashlee's Baptism

2010-07-27T13:51:00.001-07:00

YAY!!! Thanks to my amazing Friend Misty I can catch up on my blog. She gave me a disc with a bunch a pictures that she had of our family because I really struggle to even remember my camera let alone actually use it. Back on April 24 Ashlee was baptized by Carl. My parents and Nanny and grandpa came out for it. It was really nice and she was so excited for it. After the baptism we had a little BBQ and party at the Kimball Rec Center and all our fun friends were able to share Ashlee's special day with her. Thanks to my mom for making all the yummy salads

2010 BASEBALL

2010-06-22T16:36:00.000-07:00

Since soccer season wasn't hard enough with all 3 kids playing we decided to sign them all up for baseball/softball/T-Ball. Here are a few pics from the season. Caleb did awesome and hit every game. Ashlee was a really good hitter too. Syd lost interest and hated being in outfield. But they all had a good time.

Catch Up......Easter at Sunset Beach

2010-05-27T19:29:00.000-07:00

The greatest part about where we live is that we can drive a little over an hour and be in the Sierra's or go the other direction and be at the beach. For Easter weekend we decided to head to Sunset Beach (by Santa Cruz for you non-Californians) The kids showed off their artistic ability in sand sculpture and we had a great time. The Easter Bunny even found us.

8

2010-04-21T15:49:00.000-07:00

I am blogging out of order because I can't seem to get my act together to catch up again, But I had to tell my sweet girl Happy Birthday!!
8 Things I adore about my Ashlee Bug..........
1. She loves everyone. She seriously just wants to be friends with anyone she meets.
2. Her laugh is hilarious. One of my favorite sounds is Ashlee's belly laugh.
3. Her love of animals. A couple of years ago for about a month straight she refused to answer to anything but Pinky Poodle and she would bark everything she said. Awesome for about the first hour....after that not so much.
4. Her generosity. If she has any money of her own she offers to buy stuff for Caleb or Sydney.
5. Her patience (this she did NOT inherit from me!!) It's not easy being Syd's older sister but Ash is sure good at it.
6. Her determination.
7. Her creativity. I am amazed at her artistic ability (again, not inherited from me).
8. Her love for her Savior Jesus Christ. She has such amazing, simple faith. She couldn't find something the other day and I found her on her knees asking for help.
I love this girl sooo much and I am so grateful every day that I was blessed to be her mom.

Misty and Tami took these amazing pictures for Ashlee's birthday and baptism.

Locks of Love....

2010-03-18T16:31:00.001-07:00

Ashlee has been wanting to cut her hair for awhile now and I finally relented and had Tami Tam do it. I was fighting against it because when I was little my mom took me to Katie Harris to cut my hair just like she would her 4 boys. Yes, mom there are some post traumatic memories of that haircut. I may upload a photo sometime so you can all experience it with me. So needless to say I was determined to keep Ashlees hair long. However, now that it's cut I LOVE it. She is so cute with her new hairdo and an added plus is that we cut 11 inches off so she is donating it to "Locks of Love" to help other little kids. She is such a sweet girl.

Ballerinas and Blossoms

2010-03-02T20:11:00.000-08:00

I have these fantastically talented friends that take pictures and since all three of our sweet little girls go to ballet together, they decided to take some pictures with the blossoms after class yesterday. I, sadly am just the poacher that steals the pictures from their blogs so I can show off their talent and our cute girls. These are from Tami's blog and when Misty gets her pictures up I will post some of those too or you can go (HERE) to see more.

Tubing at Soldier Hollow

2010-03-01T19:04:00.001-08:00

For presidents week we went to Utah again for some winter fun. The first couple of days were spent helping nanny and grandpa put in some new doors, but on Wednesday we convinced Nan that coming with us to Park City would be fun. I am not sure she totally agrees with that statement now but she was a good sport about it. We tried a different tubing hill this year. The runs are longer but not as steep. I was pretty disappointed because the snow was kind of slushy so it wasn't very fast, but then they gave us plastic bottoms to put under our tubes. I realized how grown up Caleb is getting when he ditched us the minute we got there. The kids had a blast and they especially loved watching nan go down the hill

Almost 8

2010-02-25T19:46:00.001-08:00

I had to wait until I was 8 years old to get my ears pierced. So we decided it was our right as parents to inflict the same torment on our girls. Ashlee has been asking for a long time and since it was so close to her 8th birthday and we were in Utah we decided to let her get it done. Nanny came with us. She was very brave and said it didn't hurt at all. The sad part to this story was the total fit Sydney threw in the store because I wouldn't let her have her ears pierced too. (Please see posted picture. She turned away when she saw I was getting proof of her fantastic behavior.) Afterwards Ash was trying to make Syd feel better by telling her that it hurt REALLY bad, while she was winking at me. She has been so responsible to clean them and turn them. I really love my girls.

ALOHA!!

2010-02-09T19:29:00.001-08:00

Once a month for Family Home Evening we make dinner from somewhere around the world. This month is was Hawaii. Mostly because coconuts were on sale at Walmart. So I went to "Heck of a Deal" (there is actually a dollar store here in town called that) and got some fun supplies for the luau. I made coconut chicken and rice. And some fried SPAM!! I know it's gross but my kids love it. We also had fresh pineapple and mango. Next month we are going to China for our dinner experience.

The girls made some pictures to help decorate the table.

We bought these outfits in hawaii 4 years ago and just broke them out for our special dinner. Ash has grown some since then.

The kids thought it was great when carl busted out his machete to open the coconut. ( I was pretty sure there was another trip to the ER in our future)

Sledding in Yosemite

2010-02-01T17:10:00.000-08:00

We finally got the kiddos up to the snow to play. We went to Yosemite. We were kind of undecided where to go and we were following the slowest car on the planet so Carl said if he turns we are going to Pinecrest and if he goes straight we are heading to Yosemite, so slow guy decided for us so we didn't have to follow him anymore. It was beautiful up there and there is a lot of snow.
We stopped to right after the entrance and Syd couldn't wait to taste the snow.

She LOVES the snow....

So does Ash.

Carl blazing a new sledding trail...right after this was taken he fell forward on his broken shoulder. nice.

She was a crazy dare-devil. I'm scared to put her on skis this year.

Caught some air.

The snow was really that deep.

Caleb and Ash dug out holes to hide in for their snowball fight.

Primary ROCKS!!!

2010-02-01T16:48:00.000-08:00

I have been in primary now going on 5 years. 2 years as 1st counselor and just starting my 3rd year as the president. I LOVE it. I feel so blessed to have this calling and opportunity to serve the sweet kids in my ward. And now I have a new counselor too. Tami was sustained a couple of weeks ago as the 2nd counselor. It is such an added bonus that we get along so well as a presidency. This picture was taken at lunch after our first presidency meeting (we miss you Pickles) we took all 6 kids to Fudruckers and it was crazy and hectic but tons of fun. I love these girls. They are both such great examples to me and their testimonies are amazing, not to mention their dedication to fulfilling their callings. I could seriously be a lifer in Primary. I am just not grown up enough for Relief Society. Thanks again ladies for all your hard work.

It's that time again....

2010-02-01T16:44:00.000-08:00

Basketball season is here again. Caleb loves to play and it's great exercise for him. The hardest part is keeping my mouth shut during his games so I don't get asked to leave.

So long Spiderman.......

2010-01-27T16:53:00.000-08:00

When we moved into this house almost 6 years ago, Caleb was only 5 years old and really into everything spiderman. I have these amazing, talented friends that also happen to adore my kids that were willing to come paint their rooms for us. I was also pregnant with Syd at the time but we didn't know what we were having. I used the voodoo necklace trick and it told me I was having a boy so being the trusting freak that I am I believed it and painted the much larger room for the "boys" Well 4 months later we got Syd but the kids rooms were too amazing to paint over and change so the girls are in the much smaller although fantastically hand painted with fairytails room and Caleb had spiderman. Well last Monday when the kids and Carl were home for Martin Luther King day we decided to paint Calebs room. I have to admit, as a mom that lives in denial 90% of the time, painting over something that my baby boy used to love and packing up the legos and bionicles for storage made me very sad. I felt like we were single handedly forcing him into his pre teens. I had a good little cry about it. He is growing so fast and is such a good boy that I keep waiting for the bratty jr. high stage to start. So far so good. We aren't done with his room yet. I am going to blow up some pictures of him snowboarding, wakeboarding and kneeboarding to put on the walls, but sadly we had to say see ya to spiderman.
BEFORE

We had to prime the city wall.

AFTER

Viva Las Vegas

2010-01-22T12:18:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I got to go to Las Vegas to see my bestie Tina for her birthday. Her hubby Wayne called a couple of weeks ago and asked if I wanted to come as her present. Needless to say I was pretty excited to go and spend a couple of days with her. Sadly I didn't even take any pictures but I had a blast. We were pretty much inseparable while we lived in Vegas and leaving her was the hardest part about our move to Cali. So thanks Wayne for letting me come play for the weekend. I love your guts Tina. BTW I won 18$ from a slot machine on the way out of the movie theater. WAHOO!

Christmas 2009

2010-01-06T19:33:00.001-08:00

Christmas was a a lot of fun because we had Uncle Ian here. The kids slept until 6... actually the girls slept till 7, Caleb was up going crazy till then because no one is allowed downstairs until we are all up.

Sweet Ash in her Christmas jammies.

carl, caleb and ian got these crazy monkeys that you shoot at each other and they scream as they fly through the air.(you have to look close to see calebs in the air)

"Santa" got all us girls these warm, cuddly socks.

I had to make dinner,,, carl fried the turkey for me.

Our crowns from the english Christmas crackers.

birthday and the zoo

2010-01-02T10:39:00.000-08:00

My baby turned 5 on december 23. we opened presents and then took the family to the Oakland Zoo. She is so big and thinks that she is pretty awesome now that she is 5. Her favorite present was the DS that nanny gave her because now she is big like Caleb and Ashlee.

Ashlee reading syd her card from nana and papa.

Carl gave syd some fish crackers as a joke because he ate her crackers once and she really let him have it.

Christmas in San Francisco

2010-01-02T10:11:00.000-08:00

On the Saturday before Christmas we took Uncle Ian to San Fran. First of all, someone had the idea to ride the BART instead of driving and the kids thought taking the train was a great idea. Syd was pretty sad that she couldn't see fish out her window when we went under the bay...it actually turned out to be an awesome idea because I have never seen San Fran so busy. It was crazy. We stayed all day until it was dark enough to see the tree lit up then took the train back home. Some pretty interesting characters ride the train at night. Good times.

This pic is my favorite because syd had to go to the bathroom and she refused to smile for the picture.

CIM

2010-01-01T17:26:00.000-08:00

On December 6th I ran my first full marathon. 26.2 MILES!!! It was amazing and crazy and probably the hardest thing I've ever done. I didn't get the time I wanted but I finished and now I'm hooked. I can't wait to train and do another one. Thanks Heather for making me do this. Love ya girl. And thanks to Carl for coming and supporting me. Seriously towards the end, the only thing that kept me going was knowing carl would be at the next check point. Love you babe.

Checking in.... and getting free stuff!

Over 8000 runners. BTW it was FREEZING!!! don't be fooled by the sunlight.

Please take note of the awesome Ninja Runner seen here in black.

I thought about hanging with this group, but sadly their 5 minute miles were impossible :)

This guy ran with the flag the whole way to support his Army troop.

We bought these bright green, obnoxious shirts that say "Run like a girl" in hot pink on them so tony and carl could find us.

Little Wild Horse Canyon

2010-01-01T17:07:00.001-08:00

Little Wild Horse Canyon is pretty awesome. It is so narrow in some places with high canyon walls that you have to turn sideways to get through. The kids had fun climbing the walls. We are so glad that nanny and grandpa came with us. Grandpa went off on his own little exploration and found himself on a cliff with no way down. We used it as an object lesson for the kids. :) Stay on the right path....
Grandpa is amazing and fun. My kids love that he water and snow ski's with them. He was a trooper on this trip because he was feeling tired and a little run down. A couple of weeks later we found out that he has cancer and he is now being treated and we expect that he will be better in about 6 months. But I wanted him to know that we love him and hope he feels better soon, at least by summer for waterskiing.

Watch out for the Gobblins......

2010-01-01T16:40:00.000-08:00

The day after Thanksgiving we drove a couple hours south to go visit Gobblin Valley. Carl and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary backpacking there but haven't been back. It was awesome. The kids LOVED it. We really had to keep an eye on Sydney because she is a crazy monkey and was jumping off of the rocks and climbing up in places she shouldn't be. That girl is fearless and more than a little stubborn.

Giving Thanks in Utah

2010-01-01T16:29:00.001-08:00

We flew to Utah for Thanksgiving this year. The older the kids get the easier flying gets so it sure beat the 12 hour drive we usually have to do. My mom got some stuff to make these cute little turkey's to use as table decorations. I'm not sure who had more fun, papa or the girls

The finished turkeys

Playing at the park before dinner

Good helpers with dinner

Ashlee drew these place cards for everyone there. They were so cute.

Trunk or Treat....

2010-01-01T00:21:00.000-08:00

Misty, Tami and I decided to dress up this year. We were pretty freakin awesome.

Soccer Season

2009-12-31T17:01:00.001-08:00

This fall was consumed with soccer. I loved it but with 3 kids playing and practice, it was all we did. All the soccer pictures from the season were sadly on the compact flash that got corrupted and so the only pics we have are from their last games. The game was also on Halloween so our cute friend (Tami the haircut girl--that is what syd calls her) cut Calebs hair in a mohawk and we spray painted it blue to match his team colors. I actually thought he looked pretty awesome and he played the best game of the season even scoring a goal. Caleb and his friend were the only 6th graders on the team the rest are 8th and 9th graders.

Technical Difficulties

2009-12-31T16:54:00.000-08:00

I have had some issues with the computer and my camera, and I didn't want to blog out of order because I am OCD and it would drive me crazy. But WAHOOO!! I was finally able to upload the pictures from the Canon Camera. Syd started ballet in september and loves it because she gets to go with her best peeps dylen, brooklyn and riley. She is so cute and VERY serious.

I guess I'm doing this thing......

2009-12-03T13:54:00.001-08:00

So this is where I will be Sunday morning.....hopefully not Sunday afternoon.
I only have 2 goals for this race. 1) Finish 2) Finish on my feet, not a stretcher.
Not too lofty. We shall see. All this time I thought my crazy running partner was
joking about doing it.

Soccer pictures....

2009-11-06T14:46:00.001-08:00

Here are this years Soccer pictures. It was a crazy, hectic season having all 3 kids playing, but it was also a lot of fun. I will post more pictures of their actual games later. Syd and Dylen had buddy pictures taken. They were so cute.

I loved Ashlee's uniform. She was pretty cute out there.

So I get that I am his mom, but I think that Caleb is getting so big and he is pretty stinkin cute.

Not to mention that he is hilarious.

Tami's list.....

2009-11-06T14:25:00.001-08:00

My friend Tami wrote a list of things that she enjoys, it was fun to read and she challenged us to make a list too. Here goes...
* Running (I know it's crazy and irrational but I really love it, most of the time)
*Going on vacations
*Reading a good book
*Watching cooking shows, I don't watch tv much but I love cooking shows. (I still don't cook)
*Playing board games with the kiddos (I love to WIN)
*Framing
*pedicures
*Eating sushi
*Hiking
*Boating
*wakeboarding
*backpacking with the hubby
There are lots of things I like to do. Just not enough time.

A few more pics.......

2009-11-02T13:47:00.000-08:00

Tami Tam took some photos at the pumpkin patch too so here are a few more. Only 1 more Halloween post after this one, I promise.

Miss Dylen got a little sad, so Syd was giving her a hug.

I was pulling the kids around in the wagon. max called it his pirate ship. He kept hollering that there were "crocodiles". So cute.

Costume Pictures

2009-11-01T19:40:00.000-08:00

My friend Misty was telling me about this costume our sweet friend Dylen wanted for Halloween, it was a Little Red Riding Hood costume. I told her I could sew it for her instead of having to buy one. I haven't really sewn for awhile, but I have a machine and was excited to try. While we were at the fabric store with Misty, Ashlee found a pattern for a cow girl costume. She was so excited because she actually has a pretty big obsession with horses and all things cow girl right now. Sydney does too, so I bought the fabric and decided to try and make all 3 costumes before Halloween. I actually had to stay up late the night before the kids harvest festival finishing Syds, but I got them done. I was pretty proud of my accomplishment until Carl told me the costumes look like they belong on the show "HEE HAW" . Oh well, the girls loved them. Friday afternoon I took the girls to a little pumpkin patch in Riverbank and my amazing, talented friend Misty took some pictures of them in their costumes for me. I need a memory because I am never going to try and make costumes again. Tami Tam came with her girls and she got some pictures too. I love that I have these great friends that are so good at photography so I can just mooch off their talent. Thanks ladies.

Miss Dylen as "Little Red Riding Hood"

I love this shot because it is really hard to get her to smile for real. She has a fake picture smile.

I LOVE that it is Friday!!!

2009-10-30T15:17:00.000-07:00

Caleb has been gone all week to 6th grade science camp. That being said, I am soooo glad that it is Friday and he will be home within the hour. I have driven past the school a few times (I lost count) to see if the buses got here early. I am the mom that still has a hard time with him walking to his friends house alone so this has been a pretty crappy week for me. When Caleb reads this, I just want to tell you bud that I missed you and I LOVE YOU!!!

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-29T19:22:00.001-07:00

Last Tuesday we went to the Del Oso Pumpkin Patch. As far as Pumpkin Patches go it is pretty fancy. Lot's of rides and stuff to do...not to mention the Pumpkin BLASTER (a Carl and Caleb favorite). Our friends the Goeckeritz and Ballards met us there. The kids had soo much fun. Brooklyn, Sydney and Dylen are great little friends and Caleb loves Max. Ashlee hangs with the girls too, and is a little mother hen to Nikell. We went on a train ride and a scarecrow ride. We ate vendor food for dinner and did the pumpkin blaster. I have to say my favorite of the day was watching my husband race Caleb on these bike things around in circles. He has his sling on and was driving like a maniac. Seriously? Is it that surprising that he broke something. It was inevitable. I love the fall and all the fun things here in the Valley.Sorry for all the pictures. I got carried away.

Please take note of the strap to his sling flapping in the wind behind him.

Our little friend Max makes a pretty cute piece of corn.

The girls were hilarious in the hay maze.

Carl taking a pic of Tam taking a pic.

Playing with Brooklyn.

Pismo Beach

2009-10-29T14:03:00.000-07:00

We went to Pismo Beach the first weekend in October. The trip didn't turn out quite like we planned, but Carl was a really big trooper and stuck it out until Sunday so the kids wouldn't be disappointed. We got there late Thursday night and on Friday morning we went and rented 4 wheelers for Carl and Caleb to hit the dunes. The girls and I just played on the beach. The beach is crazy, because you can drive out on it and camp there. I was nervous because there was this MONSTER tow truck driving around ready to charge people $300.00 to pull them out of the sand when they got stuck. I was pretty sure we were going to get stuck but if only that was the worst thing that would have happened. So picture this....the girls and I are playing on the beach, having fun, we found a bunch of sand dollars that we were collecting, when my phone rings. It's Carl. He says" I'm hurt, I need you to drive down and pick me up." I laugh and say, " Whatever Carl, that is soo NOT funny." He says, " No I'm serious." Holy Crap!!! Are you kidding me? I couldn't decide if I was more upset about having to drive on the sand or that he was hurt. After seeing him, I was definitely more upset about him. I rushed him to the closest ER where they told us his collar bone was pretty smashed up. They said the Dunes keep them in business. Well, like I said, he stuck out the rest of the trip, but ended up in surgery the next Saturday to have a metal plate put in. Another Hansen family adventure for the books.

September continued.....

2009-10-29T13:44:00.000-07:00

Carl took the girls on their own camping trip too. They just went out to Woodward, but they had so much fun. They were grubby and dirty and I am pretty sure that I would have been having a heart attack, but they loved it. I love to camp....that being said, I am a clean camper. I make sure hands and faces are washed, etc.... by the looks of these pictures, I am pretty sure I just don't want to know about it.

September 2009

2009-10-29T13:16:00.001-07:00

I am playing a little catch-up on the old blog. Here are a few pics of some September activities. We have been pretty crazy busy with soccer and ballet and camping trips. Unfortunately due to the fact that I am a huge procrastinator somehow the flash drive memory card for our Cannon went bad and we lost about 400 pics of soccer games and other activities. sniff. So here are some pics from the other camera. Word to the wise. UPLOAD your photos when you take them!!!!! These are from the "Mens" backpacking trip up in the Mount Lassen area. They had a blast. Caleb talked about it for weeks after. I am so glad that he has his dads love for anything outdoors. And I am glad that Carl has someone to go with. They are crazy and I am sooo glad that I am not there to see what Carls lets him do.

Happy Birthday Friend.....

2009-10-06T10:28:00.001-07:00

Ohh Misty, I can't wait for your birthday dinner so you can wear this hot little crown again. Happy Birthday. I am so behind on blogging and have seriously fallen off the blogging wagon, but I wanted to be sure to tell you how great you are. You are such an amazing friend and mom. I love watching you with your sweet kids. Your testimony and spirit are such a blessing to me. I really look up to you and I seriously couldn't survive primary with out you. Your beautiful and funny and I sure love you friend. I hope you have a FANTASTIC birthday.

Family Home Evening

2009-09-28T20:02:00.000-07:00

We picked Caleb up from soccer practice and headed out to the lake for some quick wake boarding. It was awesome. The water was actually perfect and we were the only boat on the water. Caleb is getting really confident and even got a little air on the wake. And Ashlee tried the knee board all by herself. She was so brave. Syd still loves the tube with me. We tried to let her go alone but it was a disaster so maybe next year when she is 5

. I'm so sad that summer is over and our boating days are through for the season.

First Day of School

2009-09-28T19:57:00.001-07:00

This is Ashlee on the first day of 2nd grade. She was sooo excited to go back. Caleb started middle school and he absolutely did NOT want me to take him to school. sniff... So no picture of Caleb. I cried the whole way to Ashlee's school after I left Caleb at his friends house so they could walk. Miss Syd didn't want to take pictures either. I'm so glad that at least Ashlee is easy to get along with.

This goes against everything I believe in........

2009-09-28T19:46:00.001-07:00

It's not that big of a secret that I am a little OCD. That being said, for our birthday we celebrated with a fun boat trip with Nanny and Grandpa. The kids picked Don Pedro just for the mud. Having the kids coated in mud, wanting to climb in the boat is NOT my favorite, however looking at their cute smiles almost makes it worth it. By the way, I'm pretty sure that I am the WORST blogger ever. This trip was on August 15. My mom informed me the other day that she has started to Blog stalk and looks at Misty's blog just to catch up on what is going on with my kids. sad :(

Arrow of Light Birthday Party

2009-09-04T22:01:00.000-07:00

On August 14 we had the Cub Scout Campout. It was also Calebs birthday. We decided it would be really cool to have his Arrow of Light ceremony out at the lake. His friend got his award too. So with the help of Chris Youngberg, Bishop Rowe and Carl we had a pretty fantastic ceremony. Chris used B. Rowes Indian costume and script and rowed into camp in a canoe that Carl brought out. And instead of turning the electric lights, our friend Jen brought tiki torches for the boys to light. With a few sticks, some rope and imagination we made a bridge for them to cross into Boy Scouts. The girls just had fun running around and getting dirty and making SMORES (pretty much the best part of any campfire). Nanny and Grandpa were also there to celebrate Caleb's achievement.

Marine World

2009-09-03T16:49:00.001-07:00

All summer we were trying to plan a trip to Marine World in Vallejo with our friends Bridgette, Chad and Brando. We were finally able to go the first week of August and were especially lucky because Nan was here to go with us. The kids had a blast. Sydney was only slightly sad when she wasn't tall enough for the big coasters. Ashlee, being the nice sister skipped the big ones too. Sydney loves Chad and tried to hang out with him all day. Aside from the 50$ lunch of fries and chicken nuggets, it was a fantastic day.

The group just starting our day.

Sydney told Bridge that she will love her forever and ever.

I snuck my camera on the ride (at the threat of being kicked out if I was caught) and got these 2 pics of sydney on the rollercoaster. I love her face in the second one.

Sydney and her friend Chad on the swings.

Primary Swim Party

2009-08-27T14:29:00.000-07:00

We have started a new tradition of renting the Escalon Pool for our primary swim party. The kids love it and there are lifeguards so it makes it really nice for those of us that don't swim..... We always have a really good turn out and this year was no exception. The kids swam and tried to out jump each other on the diving board (pretty sure Bro. Bingham won), and had yummy Popsicles for dessert. I sure do love these kids.

This is the best picture. Kyra is only 3 years old and has NO FEAR. Yep, she landed in the water in that same position.

This was Hiwa's first time off a diving board.

Las Vegas

2009-08-27T14:04:00.000-07:00

My Aunt Arlene passed away at the end of July so I packed up the kiddos and drove to Vegas by myself for the funeral. It was a really nice celebration of her amazing life and she will be greatly missed. It is unfortunate that it takes a funeral to get the family together, but it was great to see everyone. Greta even flew in from North Carolina. We love you Arlene. While we were there we got to spend some time with family and the kids and I stayed at Tina's house. Sydney would move in with Tina if we would let her. Although the reason was sad, we loved seeing everyone and the kids were awesome on both drives. For those that really know me, you can understand what a big deal it was for me to drive that far by myself.

The kids had fun playing in Tina's pool. Tina and Wanye would swing them and then toss them in. It was hilarious. Even Syd got in line for her turn.

Vegas Sunset.

Shelly and Erik

Greta and me.

India and Ashlee at dinner.

Shirl, me Tonya and Tami

Greta, Erik, Shelly, me and Tim....(don't stand so close Tim!!)

Me, dad, mom and Shirl.

!BOLT!

2009-08-27T13:57:00.000-07:00

Caleb went to Bolt soccer camp in Ripon. He loved it! He learned some new skills and had a blast.

Where did July go?

2009-08-04T20:40:00.001-07:00

It has been almost a month since I last posted anything. I seriously don't know where July went. After our fun trip to Utah and the Grand Canyon, we came home to more sports camps and swim lessons. Our friend Amy Lam was in town so we took her and Caleb's good friend Nate (also Amy's little brother) out on the boat. Apparently Amy has taken 3 semesters of Wakeboarding at Sac State so my skills of being able to get in and out of the wake were less than impressive. Nate tried knee boarding for the first time and LOVED it. Also the boys went on the tube together. It was hilarious. They were trying to knock each other off and we could hear them laughing in the boat. The BEST part of the trip was that Caleb finally tried wakeboarding. We have been trying for the last 2 summers to get him to try. He did AWESOME. It only took him about 4 tries to get up and stay up. He rocked!

Sydney thought Amy was her BEST friend.

Nate workin the knee board.

Amy showing off.

Caleb in the water......not too sure about trying this.

Ashlee and Carl on the knee board.

Hansen Family Reunion

2009-07-21T20:35:00.000-07:00

Every 2 years we get together with Carl's grandparents and ALL the family for a reunion. Usually it is at Kiwanis Park up Hobble Creek Canyon, but sadly someone else got our usual spot so we had it at Jolly's Ranch. Okay, so that last comment was pretty sarcastic, but if you didn't know I hated the Kiwanis spot , you would never know. This year was GREAT!!! There was a playground for the kids right across the creek. And the creek wasn't a big draw this year so I didn't have to worry about an accidental drowning. We played fun games, and danced and celebrated Grandma Hansen's birthday. On Friday most of the family went up to Deer Creek for some waterskiing and that turned out to be a blast too. The kids just played in the water and Caleb and I played volleyball. Carl helped Grandpa Craig out by driving the boat for everyone to waterski. It was great to see everyone. Carl has a huge, fun family with lots of cousins and 2nd cousins. Even after 13 years of marriage I still am not completely sure I know everyone. Carl's Grandparents have created an amazing legacy and I feel blessed to be a part of it.

Daddy showing his skills.

This was hilarious. they were doing the "tootie tat tootie tat" song with aunt Deanna. We got a movie of it but it wouldn't upload. Just watch out Dave and Ian, I have some pretty awesome humiliation footage now.

Freedom Run.......

2009-07-20T08:48:00.001-07:00

Nothing like a little PEER PRESSURE eh? I somehow convinced Carl, Ian, Tom and Greta (who by the way HATES running) to sign up for the Freedom Festival 10K run. They all did GREAT! Ian talked a lot of trash about beating me and sadly he did, BUT here is my defense....1)I just hiked the stinkin Grand Canyon. It wasn't the easiest hike I've been on. 2)I had some pretty awesome blisters on my feet/heels. (see #1 for reason). 3) Come on Ian, I am 11 years older than you. 4) I live at 128 ft. above see level. I am just going to throw out that elevation may or may not have been a factor. So that being said, I will swallow my pride and somewhat psychotic competitive attitude to say "Good Job Ian" . I was only 5 minutes behind him, but in my head it was only 2 or 3 because I got stopped by the @#$!@% that let his stupid dog off his leash to chase a baby deer. The dog caught it and took it down right in front of me. Pretty traumatic. Luckily I got a kick in on the dog and another runner got him off so the deer could run away, but the whole incident had to have taken at least a couple of minutes. I spent sometime after the run looking for the dog owner to tell him what I thought of him. Sadly, I couldn't find him. Everyone did awesome, so thanks guys for running with me.

I learned this from my friend Misty..... re-inacting the race makes for some pretty great photos.
Please note how hard Ian is trying to catch me.

I love you Greta......

Seriously? How cool is he? Babe you are the best.

this picture does frighten me, but I have to ask, Is that eyebrow normal????

Hall Family

2009-07-13T17:02:00.001-07:00

My brother Don and his family are back in the States after 18+ months in BFE. No really, they lived in Egypt. Now Jen and the kiddos are going to live up in Sandy while Don goes to Iraq for a year. So on Thursday we got together at Joe and Shirls house for a bbq. It was a lot of fun to get all the cousins together. We ate and talked and had a blast.....until during a pretty intense game of SPUDNUT, my Bro-in-law Joe practically tackled me and gave me whiplash. Thanks for that Joe. My kids sure love their cousins and we miss them. We didn't do much else on this day because Syd was sick the night before. Seven Peaks will have to wait till next summer......

Playing games

Cute girls.

Shirl, me and Jen.

Twin Peaks

2009-07-13T16:46:00.000-07:00

So even though we had just backpacked out of the Grand Canyon 2 days before, Carl decided to knock off another summit on his goal to climb the highest peaks in all the counties in Utah. I respectfully declined to accompany him on his endeavor, so he took his younger brothers Ian and Dave with him. They had a good time, even with the questionable weather. For those of you not from Utah, summertime has these amazing thunderstorms. Probably one of my favorite things. However, it is not a great idea to be at 11000 feet when the lightning starts.

Ian and Dave

At the summit.

These 2 tracks in the snow are Carl and Ian's butt marks where they slid down the mountain.

The Hansen Boys.

Hot Pots.....

2009-07-13T16:32:00.001-07:00

On the way to Springville from Las Vegas Carl wanted to stop at some hot pots pretty much in the middle of this field at a town called Meadow. (I think) He can always come up with a crazy activity to do. By pure luck, their swim suits were easy to get to so the kids and Carl tried it out. No thanks for me. I am not a huge fan of water, not to mention a creepy, black hole in the middle of a field. I guess the water was pretty toasty and it had that delicious hot pot/rotten egg smell going on. The kids had fun until Caleb got bit by some red ants on the dirt trail to the pots. Served him right for tormenting them.

It's called the "Grand" canyon for a reason.......

2009-07-12T18:53:00.001-07:00

We left the kids in Vegas with Nan and Grandpa and headed to the Grand Canyon on Saturday. We were able to get reservations at Phantom Ranch on Sunday night. They are really hard to get and we only got one night, but we were still excited to go. We camped at the top of the South Rim on Saturday then started our HIKE down the canyon on Sunday. We hiked down the South Kaibab Trail to Phantom Ranch. The hike is rated strenuous and should take 4-5 hours. We did it in 3 hours and it was pretty hard. One would think that with gravity on your side, the hiking should be easy. At least that is what I was expecting. Not so. My toes hurt so bad from being jammed into the front of my shoes and I had blisters on the bottom of them. Going down about 8 miles was harder than hiking out 12 miles the next day. Don't get me wrong, the climb out hurt, but not as bad. I did end up with some pretty awesome blisters on my heels though. The only shoes I wear in the summer are flip flops and my running shoes, so my poor, neglected hiking shoes decided to teach me a lesson for ignoring them the rest of the year. Please note that the pics at the end of the hike, I am sporting a pretty fake smile. It was a great trip and really challenged me to push myself. Thanks Nanny and Gpa for watching the kids. And thanks babe for taking me on a fun getaway. Carl wants to hike North Rim to South Rim next. I hope he has fun and I sure will miss him while he's gone............

Top of the Kaibab Trail.

Our little lunch friend. Squirrells are actually pretty violent. This one chased another one off.

The Black bridge accross the Colorado River.

This stream is by Phantom Ranch. It was awesome. The temp was 106 in the shade.

We were just sitting in the stream cooling off when she showed up to get a drink. It was pretty awesome.

Carl was just saying how cool it was to be out in nature an experience quiet moments with animals when she decided to squat right in front of us. It was hilarious, not to mention that she was staring us down the entire time.

We stayed in dorms. 10 women I had never met were in my dorm. It was actually pretty cool meeting people from all over. This is my dorm house.

Check your beds for these little guys.

Starting the hike out. I still look pretty happy here. We left camp at 5:30 am to try and beat the heat. but it was already pretty warm.

The sun coming up and hitting the cliffs above.

I decided this is the way down the canyon.

This picture is so you can see the winding trail.

Please note the pained fake smile. I LOVED the trip, but I was pretty happy to get to the car and my beloved flip flops.

VIVA LAS VEGAS

2009-07-12T18:10:00.001-07:00

It has been a long time since I have added a post, so I have a lot of catching up to do. On June 25th for Carl's Birthday we loaded up 3 kids, backpacking/camping gear, movies, games, luggage for Utah and 2 dogs and headed to Las Vegas. Grandpa Hansen has a condo there and the kids think it's great beacuse there is a pool. We got there on Friday and decided to take the kids to the Lied Children's Museum downtown. There have a new exhibit called "GROSSOLOGY" being a 10 year old boy that thinks anything disgusting is hilarious, Caleb loved it. He has also influenced my sweet little girls to think that bodily noises are hysterical. After the museum, Grandpa and Nanny took us to Red Robin for Carl's birthday, then we went home to swim. I also got to see my BFF Tina late that night for a movie. Vegas is always fun to go back and visit. It seems crazy that we lived there.

GIANT "Operation" Game.

Making bubbles.

Swimming at Gpa's pool. Carl got a new digital waterproof camera that we tried out in the pool.

FHE

2009-06-23T16:59:00.000-07:00

For Family Home Evening last night we took Nate and went to the Westmorelands to ride horses. We had so much fun and Ashlee was really able to shine and show her awesome "cowgirl" skills. All the kids loved it. Carl's horse started to run and it made Ashlee's horse run, she stayed calm and did great I think we are in big trouble because she really wants her own horse now. Sydney refused to get off her horse. So thanks to the Westmorelands for the fun night.

Crazy Week and a Super Fun DAD

2009-06-23T14:22:00.000-07:00

We had a CRAZY week last week. Caleb had Basketball camp and both the older kiddos had Sports camp, then the girls had Swim lessons. Add scouts and princess ballet to the mix and it was busy. To finish the week, Carl decided he wanted to go camping to Pinecrest for Father's Day. It was a lot of work to get ready, but way worth it by the time we got there. I am pretty convinced that roasting marshmellows is one of my kids FAVORITE things to do. Camping is especially fun because Carl does all the cooking too. He made a yummy dutch oven dinner for us. On Saturday morning Syd got up before the other kids and wanted to go for a hike, so Carl was awesome and took her on her own little hike. Then he made pancakes, bacon and sausage. Did I mention that we were there to celebrate "Father's Day" ? I am pretty lucky. We had to leave the campground by noon so we parked the truck and trailer then hiked around the lake and tried to hike to Strawberry. The kids did so good but luckily Syd got tired and asked to ride on Carls shoulders. They were walking ahead of us when Carl yelled at us to STOP!!! There was a Rattlesnake on the trail. Carl almost stepped on it, but heard the rattle in time. It was pretty freakin scary because 5 minutes before we saw the snake Ashlee had been running ahead of us pretty far. We were only able to stay 1 night because I had sharing time on Sunday, but it was a lot of fun.

The water was FREEZING and the only way to get Caleb to go in was for Carl to challenge our super competitive kid to a race to the buoys.

Carl taught Caleb Chess for his Chess beltloop for scouts.

The super gourmet and yummy stew.

Syd set this pose up herself and asked Caleb to take her picture.

Having a snack by the river.

The "Rattler"

Friday Fieldtrips........

2009-06-16T14:00:00.000-07:00

Since it's officially summer now that equals boredom for my kids. Misty came up with a great plan to go do fun, inexpensive activities each week so they have something to look forward to. We decided to call it "Friday Field trips" except next week it is on Wednesday. Whatever, we are cool. So last Friday we took the kids minus Caleb to Pixie Woods. Caleb was a little too cool to go with us so he hung out with his friend Philip. The girls had so much fun. We had a picnic and rode the train and carousel. The weather was perfect too because it has been unseasonably cool here. Good times. Thanks Mist for the great idea.

Cute Dylen lounging on her lilly pad.

Playing follow the leader........

Funny Faces

Sunshine to Star.........

2009-06-12T22:22:00.000-07:00

Syd had her musical and graduation last night. She gets to move up from a Sunshine to a Star. One more year of Pre-school before she gets to go to Kindergarten. She did so good singing and is really excited to be a STAR. We are so proud of you baby girl.

2 out of 3 looking at the camera is pretty good. There was such a long line to get pictures with the teachers that I only had one try.